Laurie's Place to close; new owner mulls future

Pictured is Laurie's Place, located at 228 North Main Street in downtown Edwardsville.

Pictured is Laurie's Place, located at 228 North Main Street in downtown Edwardsville.

Photo: Bill Tucker • Btucker@edwpub.net

Laurie's Place to close; new owner mulls future

1 / 1

Back to Gallery

With the news spreading of the closing of a popular bar and restaurant in downtown Edwardsville, many have wondered what will become of the building.

Laurie Chavez, owner of Laurie’s Place at 228 N. Main St, recently announced via Facebook that the bar and restaurant will close on New Year’s Day.

She announced her retirement and declined to comment on her plans or the fate of the building that she owned.

Randy Gori and Gori Associates purchased the building, which has been home to Laurie’s Place for 21 years and Milo’s Tobacco Road for 18 years.

Gori presides over the Gori Julian & Associates, P.C. law firm.

Gori said he has no plans on tearing the building down but has not made a decision about who the new tenant will be in the building.

“We negotiated for the last six months on the purchase,” he said. “We are currently in talks with several local restaurateurs who are interested in putting a new restaurant in the space that was previously occupied by Laurie’s.”

As for Milo’s, Gori said he hopes they will stay on as tenants.

The building, which was originally called the Tuxhorn Opera House, was built in the late 1800s to early 1900s.

The opera house, which was located on the second floor of the building, was connected by a walkway to the St. James Hotel, which was located where the parking lot is today. Patrons of the opera house could visit the hotel for refreshments without stepping outside.

Gori said he has plans to renovate the second floor of the building but has not decided if it will be for office space or for apartments.

“My intention is to make the building better. We will clean it up and make renovations,” Gori told the Intelligencer. “Some of the buildings downtown have been neglected and have had deferred maintenance for years. We are looking to improve.”